Remarks and culture

A: Apparently, you write a book.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7553713.stm
Not content with decimating Labour support all over the country and losing 3 consecutive by-elections, Gordon Brown thinks it is a good time to pen another book.

June 1 marked the beginning of a ban on drinking alcohol on public transport in London, a high profile initiative by London's new Mayor Boris Johnson to restore order to the streets and tunnels of the capital.

Gordon Brown awkwardly admitted some of the numerous mistakes he has made during his time as British Prime Minister on yesterday's Andrew Marr Show. Brown's advisers have no doubt come up with some 'can't fail' strategy to admit mistakes and move forward; probably the only strategy left since his leadership is in a position in which he can do little else.

The UK's foreign secretary, David Milliband, set out his vision for foreign policy in a speech in Oxford today. He warns that the world can longer take "the forward march of democracy for granted" given the rise of China.

The director of national intelligence in the United States believes that al-Qaeda in Iraq is shifting its focus to other Middle Eastern countries. This is worrying but it is not surprising. While al-Qaeda's suicide missions in Iraq create a daily news ticker of death and destruction their impact as a tool of propaganda has worn thin outside of Iraq and has little ideological value.

2008 is the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. The year will feature a small number of flagship projects on a European level, as well as EU support for a national project in each Member State, and a Partner programme aimed at mobilising civil society.

UPDATE: BBC's Newsnight have made allegations that the evidence in the report that I referred to in this article was fabricated. Examination of receipts provided by the researchers to verify their purchases showed some had been written by the same person - even though they purported to come from different mosques.

Lewis Hamilton, the British F1 Racing Driver, has decided to leave the UK for the tranquillity, and no doubt the tax benefits, of Switzerland. Of the UK he notes:
"I can't go to the cinema. I go to the bathroom in a petrol station and people come in there for autographs. It's tough but I knew that was going to be the case.

Upon being given license to splatter my random thoughts across these “pages”, I began to think about what my first “post” would be about. Would I begin with an attempt at humour, should I seek to evidence my intellectual ability or should I just write what comes to mind?